License Paves Way for Development of Anti-Parkinson’s Disease Compound

The Scripps Research Institute and OPKO Health, Inc. have
announced a global agreement for the development and commercialization of SR
3306, a novel compound discovered by scientists from the Florida campus of
Scripps Research that blocks the destruction of brains cells in animal models
of Parkinson’s disease.

“This licensing agreement will help insure that the
development of this promising compound keeps moving forward,” said Philip
LoGrasso, the Scripps Florida professor whose laboratory has led the research
on the compound to date. “This is one of the best opportunities we have for the
development of an effective neuroprotective treatment for Parkinson’s patients.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Scripps Research has
granted to OPKO Health exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and
commercialize SR 3306 and related compounds that inhibit a class of enzymes
called jun-N-terminal kinsases (JNK) that play an important role in neuron
survival. The new compound would potentially be the first to protect the brain
from the ravages of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease, a degenerative neurological disorder
that reduces the brain's ability to produce dopamine, affects about 1 million
Americans. Currently prescribed drugs for Parkinson’s disease—including
levodopa and so-called MAO-B inhibitors—can counteract symptoms of the disease but
not stop its progression.

The LoGrasso lab described SR-3306 in a pair of studies
published in February 2011 in the journal ACS
Chemical Neuroscience.

Send comments to: press@scripps.edu

“This is one of the best opportunities we have for the
development of an effective neuroprotective treatment for Parkinson’s
patients,” says Professor Philip LoGrasso. (Photo by Lucien Capehart.)